What I've learnt so far...(blog 2)

Hi Everyone,

I thought it is about time I update you all on what I’ve been doing/learning at my internship. I realise my first blog was in September and it is now the beginning of November, but due to the fact that I attend my internship only 1.5 days per week I am now only up to day 12. I have to say first off that being at my internship only 1.5 days per week is proving to be difficult as it is hard for the consultants to give me large tasks due to the task needing to be completed within the next day or so or it is something which is just simply easier for them to do themselves (did anyone else find this?) However, in saying this I am learning about how a PR consultancy functions and I have been given small tasks which help contribute to the consultants work, allowing me to gain experience working on different client projects.

As I’m finding it hard to write about what I’ve been doing at my internship without mentioning client names, I thought I’d write a list of some of the tasks I’ve been working on and certain concepts of PR which I am learning to be of great importance (based on my observation). So here’s my list of the thing’s I’ve learnt so far whilst completing my internship:

1. The importance of a strong consultancy-client relationship - The relationship must be based on a mutual understanding of the task at hand and there must always be strong two-way communication.
2. Research, research and more research! – The amount of research I’ve been doing whilst working on different projects is, well, A LOT! I even at one point spent a good couple of days just reading Hansard documents – you may say “geez how boring” but it actually was surprisingly an interesting read, with politician’s pettiness being rather entertaining and proved to be a very useful resource, no matter what your researching (http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/web/newwebparl.nsf/iframewebpages/Hansard+Search). Even just observing the amount of research the consultants do when working on a client project has definitely proven to me that research is one of the most important aspects when working on a client project/strategy. I’ve learnt that research helps to set the path for the client project and helps to define key stakeholders and their opinions.
3. Updating contact databases – for every project I’ve worked on so far there has been a database specific to that client with a list of all the key stakeholders and their contact details (this including the media). The importance of creating and maintaining a stakeholder contact database has become evident to me as it is vital to have it on hand and easily accessible. This has been my main task so far, finding the contact details of various stakeholders for different clients.
4. Another PR concept which is vital to have on stand-by is a crisis communications plan. Depending on the type of client, I have learnt that by having a crisis communications plan ready and easily accessible, a lot of time will be saved and it will allow for a quick and efficient response in the case of a crisis.
5. Endorsement/ambassadors/sponsorship – when choosing a person and/or organisation to support a client project it is important to first research the person or organisation and make sure that their morals and values match those of the client and represent what the client organisation is about.
6. Media clippings – Now we all had to complete a media clippings assignment in the PR media unit and I remember thinking at the time, how time consuming the task was. However, since having started my internship I have learnt how useful media clippings can be. The days I’m at my internship I spend the first 30 – 60mins photocopying and saving media clippings which are then filed away to later be referred to. Media clippings can be an alert to an upcoming crisis or issue or they can assist in the preparation of a client strategy/project/proposal.
7. DEADLINES! – This is obvious but working at the consultancy has definitely shown how important it is to keep to deadlines for both the consultant and the client.
8. Timesheets – It is important for a consultant to log the exact amount of time they work on a client project. This can sometimes mean the consultant is logging their activities every 15 minutes. The consultants must do this in order to be able to charge the client for their work and it is something I have had to do whilst working at the consultancy.

So these are the things I’ve learnt so far whilst being at the consultancy based on my own experience and observation. I hope you’re all enjoying your placements and for the large group who have finished their placements, I hope it wasn’t too hard writing your reports. Good luck with exams everyone and enjoy the uni break!